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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2011)
letters TO THE EDITOR him and he didn’t come when I called. I found him patiently waiting for me caught in a massive trap, the same type of live-hold foot trap that was used to catch wolves for reintroduction to Yellowstone. By now he had been captured about 45 minutes, there was a break in the skin on one side of his leg just above the foot, but after I rubbed his leg a little he was ready to continued the hike. Traps with teeth are prohibited by law and have not been manufactured since the 1920s. It is highly likely that the cat in question was not caught in a trap but rather was wounded by another animal. David C. Walp III Springfi eld LAME WAY TO DIE A previous letter printed by EW (11/10) did a great job of making the case for bicyclists to wear bright clothes and use lights. I’d like to add that bicyclists should be wearing helmets. I bike (and drive) all over Eugene and I am amazed at the number of bicyclist missing a helmet. From my informal census, I think it’s a minority who actually do wear helmets. Just last week, my wife was a good Samaritan who stopped to help a woman bicyclist who had been clipped by a motorist. My wife did not even know it was a woman because the bicyclist was incoherent and her scalp was fl apped open from a huge laceration. The driver was near hysterics. The bicyclist had no helmet. I know that wearing a helmet might not look cool. It can be a pain to carry it around. And they are not free, although I’m sure there are cheap ones to be found. But they can save your life — and your brain and your good looks if that matters more to you. Years ago a friend of mine commented on my driving by saying he didn’t want to do something so lame as to die in a car accident. I would wonder who wants to do anything so lame as to die in a bike accident. Die surfi ng at Mavericks. Die free climbing El Capitan. Die solo sailing around the globe. Die saving someone else’s life. Don’t die on a Eugene city street because you were not wearing a helmet. Walter Hurst Eugene HYDROPLANING I think it’s very sweet of the city to rename Beltline after some dude at least some us have never heard of, and I’m sure his family appreciates the gesture. However, perhaps it would have been a much better use of the money that went towards at least one sign to fi x the drainage on the eastbound lane before the I-5 on ramp? When it rains heavily, a deep puddle forms which, if you’re driving a normal-sized car, results in some interesting hydroplaning effects. While it makes an otherwise dull ride to work more interesting, it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens. Anyone want to estimate the cost of raising one of those concrete barriers so the water can drain away, leaving us to drive safely again? Leigh Barrett Eugene COAL ASH RECYCLING Congressman Peter DeFazio should be commended for casting a vote in October that protects our environment and our transportation infrastructure. DeFazio voted in favor of HR 2273, the “Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act,” which would create enforceable national coal ash disposal standards while protecting coal ash recycling. Recycling coal ash (also known as fl y ash) in concrete roads and bridges makes those structures last longer. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, our highways will cost more than $100 billion more over the next 20 years if fl y ash is not available as a concrete ingredient. When combined with cement in concrete, fl y ash helps improve durability, strength, constructability and economy. Using fl y ash in concrete also keeps it out of landfi lls and saves millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. Thank you, DeFazio, for supporting solutions oriented legislation that shows we can improve our environment and our economy at the same time. KC Klosterman Eugene Sand & Gravel TOLERATING PROTEST When I was a freshman at UCLA, I watched from my eighth fl oor dormitory window overlooking John Wooden’s Pauley Pavilion as students protested the Vietnam War and were struck by police with billy clubs. I am in full support of the Occupy movement, and think we can tolerate Occupy Eugene as long as it is peaceable. Marti Berger Eugene BAG THE BAGS Although currently a Portlander, I spent nearly a decade in the fi ne city of Eugene and would love to see the latter city also ban the plastic grocery bag. Among my odder jobs in the past I worked in a county landfi ll where my chief job was trying to pick up the tons of plastic bags that constituted 90 percent of the debris accumulated there. Although fences were erected for the sole reason of catching the wind-borne bags, it was diffi cult even to put a dent in the massive amount and I couldn’t help feeling that we were there as a token effort required by the state. The fact that many, if not most, bags end up in our waters, rivers and oceans, just adds to the critical need to stem the use of these non-biodegradable toxic items. Just one look at the massive Garbage Patch in the Pacifi c or a strangled turtle will say more than any verbal rant or streams of impersonal numbers. I strongly urge our fellow Oregonians to research this topic for themselves and judge if the use of these bags in worth the damage it causes and will be inherited by our children. Christopher Ott Portland KEEP IT GOING Please come and lend your support to this experiment in community organizing. We need bodies to show everybody that there is a wide-ranging support for this national and international movement. Our list of demands are aligned with those of the New York Occupation and they include but are not limited to: ending corporate personhood; holding Wall Street accountable; public fi nancing and equal elections: ending climate crisis and helping the environment in general; stopping wars including the war on drugs and the prison industrial complex; health care for all; affordable or free education including college; stop companies that are trying to gain a monopoly on the food supply (GMOs, pesticides etc.); and state banks like in North Dakota. The ones I forgot to add did coincide with my beliefs as well. The reason I think this new paradigm should be explored and allowed to continue is because the Occupiers are using very progressive democratic methods of communicating. Everyone’s voice is allowed to be expressed and although this may seem time consuming the end result of consensus leaves almost everyone satisfi ed with the process. If a person doesn’t agree with the course of action they can stand aside or “block.” This last measure is extreme and requires the objector to explain him/herself, in a way that makes sense to the rest of the group. When this happens sometimes a detour of the original path is taken. We hope that the Eugene Police Department, the City Council and the city manager see the wisdom in permitting this “Occupation” to continue. David Ivan Piccioni Eugene LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print as many as space allows, with priority given to timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words, keep submissions to once a month, and include your address and phone number for our files. Email to letters@ eugeneweekly.com fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. 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